A Film to Inspire Change
Catching Sight of Thelma & Louise had its beginnings in 1991, when viewers from around the country shared their visceral reactions to Thelma & Louise, in writing, in a national survey. Twenty-five years later the same viewers share their original reactions and present-day views of the meanings this cultural touchstone holds for them.
Much like its namesake, Catching Sight of Thelma & Louise grabs you and doesn’t let you go just because you finished watching it. Some films provoke animated conversations and robust engagement. This is one of them.
Our next festival screening is at Middlebury New Filmmakers festival, in Middlebury, Vermont, August 24 – 27. On October 14th, the Santa Cruz Film Festival will feature Catching Sight in conjunction with a distinguished panel. In November, we will screen at the Napa Valley Film Festival. Jennifer Townsend will also participate in NVFF’s elite five-day Artist in Residence Program.
A Film About A Film
In this one-minute clip, Sarah, a participant in our film, reminds us of the essential elements underlying the protagonists’ journey. These elements provide the seedbed that Catching Sight of Thelma & Louise grew out of, unfolding in an organic, real-world expression of the ‘mother film.’
Catching Sight of Thelma & Louise is a documentary about Thelma & Louise. Not about ‘the Making’ of the film. Not the story behind the film. But about what Thelma & Louise means to viewers. What place does it occupy in the hearts and minds of the filmgoing public? And Why?
In 2014, Film Director, Jennifer Townsend, began tracking down respondents to her 1991 survey. As respondents were found, she and her film team traveled across the country to conduct on-camera interviews, capturing reactions to their original survey responses as well as current impressions and comparisons.
One can only imagine the challenges in trying to locate people whose contact information was twenty-five years old; whose addresses and phone numbers were no longer accurate; who moved to other cities and states; who got married or divorced; changed names, etc.